The obvious question you’re probably asking is: “What on earth are otome games, anyway?” Otome, which literally means “young woman” in Japanese, is the term used to refer to a genre of dating simulation games aimed at a female audience. Many of you have heard of male-oriented dating sims, or bishōjo games, such as Tokimeki Memorial or LovePlus where the player controls a male protagonist to pursue one of the many potential girlfriends. In fact, the mention of dating sims probably conjures up images of shy-looking young Japanese men wedding lady friends in their DS and stories of how Japan’s declining birth rate is somehow connected to the nation’s males being more interested in 2D lovers than real women.
Though dating simulation games have found a special place in the game industry in Japan, they have never really made the jump to international markets, with the exception of a few that feature cross-genre elements such as Thousand Arms, Persona 3, and the Harvest Moon games. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing niche market for PC eroge, or erotic games, in the US, but otome games have remained largely ignored.
The Zero Escape series is classic and should come to Nintendo Switch.
Or better yet, they should bring the two first games, pretend the third never happened and make it again with better writers who actually know the characters.As a big fan of the series, I couldn't believe how bad Zero Time Dilemma was not only with its writing, but also its messy game structure, unsatisfying conclusion, ignoring the greatest mystery of the second game, bad new characters, and an epilogue that's actually hidden and made by just some text.
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And let's not forget the addition of sudden alien technology shoehorned into the plot.
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EDIT:
"and the final game in the series, Zero Time Dilemma, won our 2016 Game of the Year award"
Oh wow, now I'm truly questioning your site's taste. At least at some point in the article you recognized it's the weakest of the three.
I enjoyed the third, but I completely agree it was a bit of a let down. The characters were so weak.
Agreed. It would be perfect on the Switch. I especially loved Virtue's Last Reward.
There is a name people caught up in the otome game craze should know: Otomate. This is the branch of Idea Factory that devotes itself to making games for women. These tend to be visual novels with dating sim elements, though Library Cross is a mobile RPG and I Will Protect You was an Otomate Forte Metroidvania. Lots of Otomate games have been released in English for people to enjoy! Depending on the system you own, you could have at least one title to try.
In the years since Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom made its English debut in 2012, otome games have enjoyed a surge of popularity worldwide. The genre went from an unknown to one that received multiple releases on various platforms each year. Sony handhelds have long been a haven for such titles, with people who own a Vita enjoying the fruits of this bevy of releases.
In Japan maybe but I highly doubt it will become popular worldwide.